Chapter 65

"Damn it, you're actually quite capable. If I hadn't broken through, I really wouldn't be your match, but now..."

The relentless attacks from the giant snake made Hu Gao somewhat angry. It's just a fruit I took, and you're still angry? If you had a demon core in your body, hmpf...

Hu Gao no longer chose to flee but instead turned and charged forward. His sword shot out fierce sword qi, and the Shadowless Sword burst with a crimson glow, shining brightly in the air.

The sword qi struck the giant snake's head, making a dull drum-like sound. The snake's skin was incredibly tough, and Hu Gao's sword qi failed to penetrate the giant snake's defenses.

The Shadowless Sword sliced through the air, aiming for the two sharp fangs in the giant snake's mouth.

The snake's forked, foul tongue trembled, emitting a hiss. It opened its mouth, releasing a yellow-green gas that surged toward Hu Gao.

The gas the snake spat out was primarily sulfur-based fire poison. The beasts in the Flame Valley were mostly fire-attribute, and the poison they produced was influenced by the environment, often carrying fire poison.

Although they hadn't truly entered the Flame Valley yet, Hu Gao guessed that this fire-poisonous giant snake must have escaped from inside the Flame Valley.

Fortunately, they hadn't ventured deeper into the Flame Valley; otherwise, the snake's sulfur gas would have turned into fire.

Hu Gao remembered Qi Hong mentioning this before. Seeing the yellow-green gas, he immediately had a plan.

The Shadowless Sword cautiously swept away the poison gas, and Hu Gao accurately cast a Fire Dragon Spell at the giant snake's mouth. Then, he used the [Qian Qing Palm] technique with his sword, sweeping out strong winds to block the incoming flames.

The giant snake really spewed flames, and its mouth suddenly exploded. It let out a painful hiss and hesitated in its attack.

Then, Hu Gao landed on the giant snake's head, gripping the hilt of the Shadowless Sword with both hands, and thrust it heavily into the snake's head.

"Roar!"

The giant snake's body couldn't withstand Hu Gao's full-strength thrust, and its massive form fell to the ground.

"There's also this stupid bear, daring to break this tree and now trying to attack me..."

Having advanced to the peak of the Seventh Stage of the Condensation Shadow Realm, Hu Gao was in high spirits, fighting these two beasts, which reminded him of the times he and Xiao Wu wreaked havoc on the beasts in the back mountain.

The giant snake, falling from such a height and with its two fangs blown off, would likely lose most of its fighting ability. Hu Gao turned his gaze to the raging black bear below, only to find it staring at him with its massive paws raised, ready to launch a fierce attack. This made Hu Gao very unhappy.

"Boom!"

The giant snake's body finally hit the ground, and Hu Gao leaped to the side.

His feet had barely touched the ground when a sharp wind rushed from behind, clearly an attack from the black bear.

"Really daring to attack, you're blind..."

Hu Gao muttered, hadn't the black bear seen him take down the giant snake? Hadn't he shown enough strength to intimidate the bear? Did he have to waste more energy on another two strikes?

Suddenly, Hu Gao caught a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye, and his eyes gradually brightened.

"Want to use your claws to kill me? I'll have a bear paw stew today."

Hu Gao angrily said, the Shadowless Sword suddenly thrust out, a shocking sword beam slicing through the black bear's wrist, blood splattering, and a massive bear paw fell to the ground.

"Roar!"

The black bear let out a painful roar, retreating several steps, its eyes filled with rage.

"Roar!"

Just as the black bear was about to go berserk, the giant snake, which had recovered some strength, roared at him and quickly fled in the opposite direction from Hu Gao.

"Roar!"

The rage in the black bear's eyes quickly turned to fear and afterthought. This seemingly insignificant human was not someone it could oppose.

The giant snake's warning snapped it back to reality. Without hesitation, it roared and immediately turned to follow the giant snake.

"The black bear is a bit stupid, but the giant snake isn't. It knows my strength."

Hu Gao chuckled, glancing in that direction again.

These two late-stage First Rank beasts didn't have demon cores, and Hu Gao didn't want to waste too much energy on them, as he knew another battle awaited him.

He seemed to have defeated the black bear and the giant snake with just a few moves, but each strike he made consumed a great deal of strength and mental energy. The reputation of late-stage First Rank beasts was not exaggerated. Even at the peak of the Seventh Stage of the Condensation Shadow Realm, he had to go all out to kill them.

"Xiao Wu, tell me this person's strength and cultivation level," Hu Gao contacted Xiao Wu directly. "Also, confirm if he has any treasures."

Although he didn't know the exact cultivation level of this person, since Xiao Wu hadn't stopped him from coming, it meant that even if this person was strong, he wasn't a threat to Hu Gao's life.

"Boss, you finally got the fruit. This should be a good thing. I'll eat it after we deal with this person."

Xiao Wu's words surprised Hu Gao, making him want to throw him out. This glutton was always thinking about eating.

Xiao Wu chuckled, "As for the hidden person, there's only one, a warrior who just broke through to the Ninth Stage of the Condensation Shadow Realm. As for whether he has any treasures, um... he seems to have a fire-attribute spirit medicine, but I'm not sure what it is. He keeps it in a box."

"Fire-attribute spirit medicine?"

Hu Gao's eyebrows raised, hesitating.

"Boss, we don't need to know what it is. Let's just take it first. This person isn't strong. Even if you don't act, I can take him out."

Xiao Wu chuckled, "This person isn't a good person. I can sense his greed. He clearly covets the fruit you took but is hesitant to act."

"No, absolutely not. We are civilized people!"

Hu Gao firmly shook his head and walked toward the bear paw, saying regretfully, "I didn't expect the black bear to run so fast. I thought I could cut off its other paw and cook it too. Now, I can only eat one."

"..."

Xiao Wu was a bit taken aback by Hu Gao's quick change of topic and simply kept quiet.

"Sigh, this bear paw is really tough. Ordinary knives and swords can't cut it. I doubt even ordinary lower or middle-grade human-grade treasures could cut it. Tsk, the defense of beasts is truly formidable."

Hu Gao picked up the black bear's paw and cut it with the Shadowless Sword. Under his control, the Shadowless Sword cut through it like tofu, slicing off pieces of meat.

"My Shadowless Sword is truly sharp. A supreme human-grade treasure, it was a wise choice to steal it!"

Hu Gao's self-talk was filled with pride...

"Shadowless Sword, isn't this the treasure sword I lost last year? How did it end up here?"

While Hu Gao was leisurely cutting the bear paw, an old man with a beard emerged from a nearby bush, a pipe in his mouth, smoke curling from his hair and beard, giving him a somewhat mystical appearance. But seeing the Shadowless Sword in Hu Gao's hand, his eyes widened as if he had seen a long-lost brother, almost shedding tears.

"Yes, this is the Shadowless Sword I lost last month!"

"Huh? Who are you? This Shadowless Sword is mine. How did it become yours?"

Hu Gao looked at the old man with the pipe, his voice filled with confusion. He also sized him up, noticing the short pipe in his mouth and a long pipe hanging from his waist. His chest was bulging, likely containing something, probably the fire-attribute spirit medicine Xiao Wu mentioned.

For a Ninth Stage Condensation Shadow Realm warrior to value this spirit medicine so much, it must be quite valuable. If refined into a pill by an alchemist, its value would be even greater...

"Thief! It's you! I thought you were a decent young man, but you stole my Shadowless Sword and ran away!"

The old man, looking at Hu Gao's face, suddenly realized and scolded him.

"This Shadowless Sword was bought by my grandfather half a month ago. How can you say it's yours? You're forcing me to return it and calling me a thief. Old man, do you have any shame?"

Hu Gao, protecting the Shadowless Sword, angrily said.

"Brat! Still trying to argue? I've been looking for you for a month. Don't think a disguise can fool me!"

The old man yanked the pipe from his mouth, glaring at Hu Gao, confirming the theft.

"I've never seen you before. How could I steal your sword?"

Hu Gao seemed to understand and then angrily said.

"Oh, you're robbing me! Hmph, do you think I'll submit? Don't think you're great just because you're old. I'm not afraid of you!"

"Wow! What a stubborn brat! Let's see how I deal with you today!"

The old man, speaking, took a deep puff of his pipe, smoke billowing from his mouth and nose, looking extremely angry.

At the same time, he channeled his yuan force, bursting with the aura of a Ninth Stage Condensation Shadow Realm warrior, advancing step by step toward Hu Gao.

This person's yuan force was formidable, condensed and unscattered, his aura overwhelming, far surpassing ordinary Ninth Stage Condensation Shadow Realm warriors. He was likely a true adventurer...

Seeing this person approach, Hu Gao's blood slowly boiled. Finally, he had encountered a true expert! This person gave him the same feeling as when he first met Lang Sheng, the Grand Elder of the Judgment Hall.

"Little one, you must return the Shadowless Sword. The Red Tassel Fruit you just took is also something I wanted. Without my permission, you picked it. If you're smart, you'll return both. That way, I might be a bit more lenient."

Though he said "lenient," his tone was icy, revealing a cold killing intent. This meant that regardless of whether Hu Gao returned the Shadowless Sword and the Red Tassel Fruit, he would be in great danger.